


Murdock’s Mochas

by Caustic_Corgi



Category: Batman - All Media Types, Daredevil (TV), Justice League - All Media Types, Young Justice - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - Food Service, Bakery and Coffee Shop, Blind Character, Bruce Wayne is Batman, Bruce Wayne is a Good Parent, Damian Wayne Needs a Hug, Damian Wayne is Bad at Feelings, Damian Wayne is Robin, Dick Grayson Needs a Hug, Dick Grayson is Nightwing, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Human Disaster Matt Murdock, Hurt Bruce Wayne, Hurt Damian Wayne, Hurt Dick Grayson, Hurt Matt Murdock, Hurt Tim Drake, Justice League (DCU) as Family, Matt Murdock Angst, Matt Murdock Needs a Hug, Matt Murdock centric, Matt Murdock is a Good Bro, Protective Bruce Wayne, Protective Damian Wayne, Protective Dick Grayson, Protective Tim Drake, Sensitive Matt Murdock, Tim Drake is Red Robin, sensory overloads
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-21
Updated: 2021-01-08
Packaged: 2021-03-03 05:29:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 9,168
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24309760
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Caustic_Corgi/pseuds/Caustic_Corgi
Summary: Daredevil DC AU in which a normal Matt Murdock owns the best café in Gotham, serving lattes and baked goods to both heroes and villains alike. The importance of "Murdock's Mochas" is confirmed and tested when employee and vigilante Dick Grayson discovers his boss kidnapped.
Comments: 36
Kudos: 193





	1. Welcome

**Author's Note:**

> I started writing this a long time ago and only now decided to send it out. I also found out that there are already some DC and Daredevil fanfics about coffee shops. I just love coffee AUs in general.

When a person saw the café that was Murdock's Mochas for the first time they saw a brightly colored respite from the gloominess and harsh reality that was the streets of Gotham City. It's red awning and warm, homey glow, as well as its promise of caffeine, drew many tired souls to its doors, like a siren's song, but the food and company kept them there.

When the café first popped up, people doubted whether it would stay in business long, Gotham wasn't the best place to open a small business. People figured that if it wasn't destroyed by the city's villains, then it would fail from the lack of customers and high taxes. But that was before anyone met Matt Murdock.

Matt Murdock was both charismatic and strong-willed. The prospect of running a café in Gotham did not intimidate him. Even though blind and at a physical disadvantage, he could scare anyone into listening to him, in the way old ladies can be the scariest thing on earth. Not even Joker dared to act up in his presence.

What really made Murdock's Mochas special and separated it from the few other small businesses that had managed to survive was its large appeal to the heroes and villains of the city. 

It all started when Nightwing brought an emotional Robin in one night. Their patrol together had quite badly and Robin had been going through a period of self doubt and blame at the time. Being the good big brother that he was, Nightwing decided that it would best if he brought Robin somewhere where he could cool off and talk it out. It was by chance that he discovered Murdock's Mochas, although the chances were probably improved by the café's positive appearance and emptiness.  
______  
Dick internally groaned, Damian was being his usual emotionally stunted self and it was a total pain. They had been breaking up a bank robbery, simple stuff, and Damian had made a simple mistake. All he'd done was not notice a guy standing behind him, but the guy wasn't a even a big threat, he was as high as a cloud. It really wasn't an issue, but to Damian it was the straw that broke the camel's back. He had been going through some self worth issues, basic puberty, and this latest slip up was really bringing him down. Now, Dick prided himself on being the best big brother there ever was so he wasn't going to let that stand

"C'mon just sit down, I'm gonna get us some treats," Dick said, patting Damian on the shoulder. They'd been walking the rooftops of Gotham when he'd noticed a brightly lighted building. Its sign said in big friendly letters 'Murdock's Mochas', a café was just what Damian needed, Dick realized. After checking that it was free of customers, Dick pulled, dragged Damian to the establishment.

"I am not a child needing to be babied," growled Damian, crossing his arms in an ironically childish pout.

"Okay, I'm still hungry. Want anything specific?"

"No."

"Alright, suit yourself."

Dick walked over the café's counter where he was faced with a tall, brunette man who was wearing sunglasses. As wisely said by Dean Winchester, "You know who wears sunglasses inside? Blind people. And douchebags." Judging by the cane in the man's hand, he was the former.

"Hello, sir. I would like to order something for my little brother, what would you recommend?" Dick asked.

The man turned towards Dick's general direction and gave a charming smile,"Oh, sorry I didn't notice you earlier. I need to replace the bells on the door. Does your brother have a sweet tooth?"

"Yes, he does." In the background Damian made an offended sound.

"I have your basic tarts, scones, chocolate croissants, and cookies. I also have a new selection of European specialty deserts. I decided to make them this week for a visiting friend. You know, give them a taste of home. Would your brother like something like that?"

This made Dick very excited, it wasn't often that he had the opportunity to experience things related to his past as a circus performer. "Yeah, do you have anything Romani?"

"Not that I know of, but I have Romanian treats in stock if that counts. Sorry, I'm not really educated on that front, I know there's a difference but I don't really know what it is. I can find some recipes for a later date if your ever want to come back. I love trying new things! I have Slavic treats, like from Romania, if you're interested in that, I'm not sure if they'd be similar to what your looking for or not. Could I interest you in something if that sort?"

"Yes please! I think he'd like something with sugar. He needs a boost," Dick laughed. Damian looked like a depressed cat, sugar was definitely necessary.

"Well in that case, I think he'd like my trdelník, also called chimney cake, it's a kind of spit cake. It has walnuts and sugar on it. Another option would be papanasi, which is like a boiled donut, but not. If you think he'd like something he'd be more familiar with then I'd recommend my gooey chocolate chip cookies."

"I think he'd like the papanasi. He needs to broaden his food palette. He has too many cookies at home. I think I'll just take a latte, I can just steal some of his."

The man chuckled and then looked up, "I just realized that I forgot to introduce myself. My name's Matt, Matt Murdock." The man stuck out his hand.

Dick shook and then realized that Matt was waiting for him to introduce himself. Dick also realized that Matt couldn't see that he was a hero! "Oh shit! Umm, you can't see this, but umm I'm actually Nightwing. Like the vigilante. Yeah. Uhh, My brother is Robin. I really hope that isn't an issue. I don't want to accidentally cause you trouble."

Matt looked surprised, but didn't change his friendly demeanor, "Oh it's not a problem at all! All customers are welcome here! It would be twisted of me to kick you out just because you told me something about yourself that I didn't know. Besides you guys help the city a lot. You also didn't have to tell me and it'd be rude of me to get mad at you for telling the truth when that's something I would like all customers to give me the curtesy of doing. Thanks for telling me, here's your drink and your brother's treat." Matt handed Dick a tall glass and a paper bag.

"Oh, one rule that I have my customers follow here is that they have to leave everything where they found it. I have tape crosses on the floor signaling where table and chair legs should be. I have a hard time getting around and doing things if I don't know where everything is," Matt called to Dick as Dick sat down at a nearby table. This brought Dick's attention to the red x's that were made out of tape that littered the floor and the counter. The x's were placed where objects were supposed to be set down.

"I gotcha," Dick called back. The system that Matt had going on probably made his life as a blind café owner with no employees immensely easier. Dick mentally commended him on his success. Not a lot of people could run a business in Gotham, but Matt was doing it even though he was at a disadvantage. Matt reminded Dick of the way Babs persevered through her paralyzation.

Dick sat down and handed Damian his bag. Dick watched as Damian opened the bag and inspected the baked goods inside. Damian carefully removed what looked like a fried donut ball with a white thing (sour cream?) and reddish jam on top. On top of that was another, smaller fried donut ball. It looked delicious, smelled great too.

Damian took a small bite, only to immediately shoveled the rest into his mouth.

Dick laughed, "Is it good?"

Damian gave a large smile which looked quite comical with his bulging cheeks.

"Wanna share?"

Damian's face darkened and an animalistic growing escaped his throat. He grabbed the bag that held the remainder of the dessert and placed it on the seat next to him, on the opposite side of Dick. Damian crouched over the bag protectively as he continued to eat.

"Okay... So it's good, don't be a drama queen." Dick extended his hand expectantly. He paid for it, he got to try out. Those were the rules.

"Not sharing! Mine!" Damian cried.

"Robin-give-now!" It really couldn't be that good. God, his brother was such a toddler sometimes!

"No! Mine!"

"Fine? Whatever, you're weird."

Damian's facial expression returned to its over-the-moon and almost high look. "Yummy."

"Robin, you never say 'yummy', are you okay?"

"I'll have you know that this is absolutely delectable. We must hire this Murdock man to help Agent A in the kitchen! I insist!" Damian banged his fist on the table for effect.

"Yeah... No. Not happening." Dick turned his attention to his drink. Despite being Blind, Matt's latte's presentation was beautiful. The layers were distinct, with the dark brown shots of expresso resting on the bottom, a larger layer of steamed milk floating in the middle, and a thin layer of foamed milk with an intricate design on top. Dick mused that it must have taken years to develop the skill to make a latte look that way. He felt bad about having to ruin the appearance of the drink, but he was thirsty for a latte. He took a sip.

The cup feel from his hands only being saved by a watchful Damian.

"Don't spill these masterpieces. This guy has skill. If you drop your glass again, he might never serve us again," he said setting it gently on the table.

Dick didn't hear his brother, he was in pure awe. The drink was unlike anything he had ever experienced before. The layers and flavors blended perfectly on his tongue. There were no words. Just awe.

Dick and Damian just sat, in silence, enjoying the masterpieces that were Matt Murdock's creations.


	2. The Hero Hub

Soon after Nightwing and Robin's visit to the café, the news of exemplary food and service traveled across the hero world. Batman's policy about other heroes in Gotham had changed and now heroes could go in and out of Gotham as they pleased. This allowed for the opportunity for people to check out the colorful café that had made such an impression of members of the bat family. Murdock's Mochas quickly became a hero hotspot. People even started calling it 'The Hero Hub.' 

Every hero was unique and had specific tastes. Lucky for them Murdock's Mochas served an extremely wide variety of drinks and baked goods. Superman liked the southern style sweet tea. Green Lantern was a huge fan of banana bread. Batman was a huge coffee addict. The darker and more bitter the better, just like his soul. In secret though, Batman indulged in cake pops. The Bat was very stern with Matt that no one could ever find out. Ever. Red Hood drank seemingly normal coffee that actually had a shit ton of alcohol in it. When Flash was in town, the café was sure to sell out if whatever was in stock in less than a half hour, much to the displeasure of all the other customers.

Because of Matt's blindness and lack of employees, no one had to fear the loss of their secret identity. This fact allowed the café to become a place where heroes could relax and unwind in peace.

On some days, the café was even closed to all non-heroes. On those days, the shades were drawn and people could freely remove their masks. The superhero world had grown close in recent years and most identities were common knowledge to other heroes. This excluded the bat family though. Even though other heroes knew their identities, no one wanted the public to learn their civilian names.

Many of the heroes that visited the café grew close to Matt and considered him a friend. He was always nice, had a funny joke to tell, and the way he treated his hero friends like normal people was refreshing.  
_____  
"Hey Matt! Artemis says my charms are annoying and childish!" Wally cried.

"Well it's true baby Flash, right Matt?" Artemis taunted back.

"I'm not getting dragged into that!" Matt laughed, raising his arms to a sign of peace. "Hawkgirl, let me know when you're done with your drink, I can give you a refill. A reward for not swinging your mace at anyone in a month."

Shayera cheered. "Yay! Go positive reinforcement!"

"Ooh, can I get a refill please?" Barry asked.

"No way," Matt answered chuckling.

"Aww, why not," sulked Barry, who was making a pouty face that Matt couldn't see.

"Because Flash," said Hal, "the last time he said yes to you, he was out of stock for a whole week. Not to mention your caffeine rush was unpleasant. No caffeine for you, never again." Hal shuddered at the memory of the time both of the speedsters got a caffeine overload.

"Yeah, a caffeinated speedster equals nightmare fuel. That will be forever etched into my mind and ears," Matt laughed.

"It was just one time. Please forgive," Barry groaned.

"One time is too much time. I'm even thinking of getting a sign that says 'Caffeine Ingestion By Speedsters Is Restricted In This Establishment.' Oh! I forgot to ask earlier, does anyone have an idea or suggestion of a baked treat for me to make? I'm feeling the need to try out something new," Matt asked.

Everyone started calling out names of food simultaneously.

"Hey! One at a time!" Matt yelled.

"Those things from New Orleans. It starts with a 'B'. I don't know the name," Tim suggested.

"Beignets? I can do that. Haven't made those in a long time. That sound good to everyone?" Matt asked.

Everyone cheered enthusiastically.

"Good. I should have a full stock of those in a week."

Matt felt his watch, "Hey guys, it's getting kinda late. Don't you guys have cities to save?"

"Aww mom! It's not bedtime yet!" Wally and Barry cried.

Matt laughed, "You guys practiced that didn't you?"

"Uh-huh."

"No."

Barry and Wally stared at each other and simultaneously and then turn around, looking away from each other, pouting.

Everyone laughed.  
______  
The bat family sat in their dining room. They had just finished the dinner that Alfred had prepared for them and were about to get up to prepare for patrol.

"Hey chum," Bruce turned to Dick as he got up to clear his plate.

"What's up?"

"I think you should get a job."

"Wha-? A job? Bruce! You do realize that my day is pretty full with both school and our night lives, right?"

"Yes..."

"But?"

"But you need to fill out your resume. You don't want people to think you're just riding on my coattails. Crime is down, you could ease up on the patrolling. Damian would probably enjoy having more independence, more chances to prove himself."

"What's bringing this on?"

"Nothing. I just think you should have some more real world experiences. Like normal people real world experiences."

"We're not normal, anything but," Dick laughed.

"Yeah, I know, just think about it okay?

"Sure, whatever you want."  
_____  
The patrol had been a good one and Bruce and Dick were heading back to the Manor. Damian and Tim had already gotten back.

Dick was flipping in the air, jumping from rooftop to rooftop when a familiar red awning caught his eye. If you stared at him at just that moment, you might have been able to see the light glow of a lightbulb going off in his head.

"Hey B?"

"Hn?"

"You know how you asked about me getting a job earlier?"

"Yeah."

"Well, I had an idea."

"What?"

"How do you think Matt would feel about having some help taking orders and stuff?"

Bruce lost his step and fell, barley catching himself. The words "Free food" were almost audible as he began to fall.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Was that okay? Please comment!


	3. Unwelcome Guests

It was a nice sunny day in Gotham and the day seemed even brighter by the fact that the city's crime was at an all time low. With their current, and probably soon to be lost, free time, many heroes found themselves at their favorite place for food, drink, and friendly conversation, Murdock's Mochas.

Smells of a lively kitchen drew a large crowd and Matt Murdock found himself to be quite busy, not that anyone ever rushed him, of course. One did not place a timer on perfection. It also helped that Matt had a recent hire.

Said recent hire was Richard 'Dick' Grayson. Dick was friendly, reliable, and had been found as trustworthy to the heroes customers of the café.

"Okay! I got two cappuccinos and one chocolate croissant," Dick cried.

"That'd be me and Supes," responded Hal, grabbing the order.

Matt walked out from the kitchen in the back. "Hey guys, I have extra funnel cake leftovers. They're going to go stale soon. I'm just going to leave it out for people to grab. It's free," he said, setting out a plate on the counter. Everyone immediately stood up and charged towards the counter, a race for the snacks.

"Doggie pile!" Someone cried and Diana, who was holding the plate, soon found herself on the bottom of a pile of greedy, hungry super-powered monsters.

"Get. Off. Now," Diana growled, with Hal in a headlock.

"But Foood!" Hal cried

"Yeah. Mine."

"Matt help me. Please!"

"Good luck Hal! As long as she puts the chairs back on the tape x's, I don't care. I'm not doing anything. You should all know better than to try to force food away from an Amazon," Matt laughed, siping tea and sitting on the counter, legs criss cross applesauce style.

"Dick? Will you help me?" Hal whimpered.

"Hell naw! I like my legs in tact, thank you very much," Dick stated, picking up some dirty dishes.

"Anyone?"

"You're on your own buddy," Barry taunted.

"Traitor." Hal gave his best attempt of a bat-glare.

"Matt where did you live before Gotham?" Clark asked.

"Uhh, a New York neighborhood. Hell's Kitchen."

"Ooh New York. Avengers," growled Jason, who was downing shots.

Everyone's eyes narrowed at the thought of their rivals.

"Have you ever served them?" Dinah asked, voice an intimidating whisper.

"Uh-huh."

"I take offense! Matt's food is not for them! They don't deserve it!" someone declared.

"What did they have?" Bruce asked. He sounded more broody then usual.

"Thor likes pop tarts, but not much else. I'll never make or eat one again as long as I live! I've had too too many!Tony Stark is a coffeholic, as you'd probably guess. Black Widow liked Russian specialty desserts. Hawkeye was a country bumpkin like Supes here. Hulk liked calming teas. Those teas were necessary, let me tell you! He destroyed my café like seven whole times!"

"Is that why you're here now? Why'd you leave?" Dick asked.

"Got bored. There wasn't as much interesting company as there is here. They just wanted the same things over and over again. No variety."

"You won't leave us will you?" Hal whimpered from the spot on the floor Diana had dumped him.

The café became dead silent.

"Oh come on guys! Don't be so serious!" Matt said.

"Please stay," begged Robin, his voice shaky, pulling on Matt's shirt.

Matt smiled. "This is adorable. So cute. Aww, I'm touched guys, I really am. What are you guys worried about? I'm not going anywhere. I never said I was."

"You're going to stay?"

"Of course, I like it here! Relax guys."

"Yay! Food forever!" someone yelled. Matt just laughed.

The café atmosphere resumed to normal. Conversations picked up where they left off and people continued to gorge themselves on food.

"Hey Red Robin! I got your beignets!" Matt called, bring out a tray.

"Booyah! Let's go!" Tim cried scrambling towards where Matt stood.

Bruce also stood up to join his surrogate son in gorging his face.

“Batman no,” Matt said in the way you tell a dog to get off the couch. “You’ve been putting on weight. I may be blind, but I’m not that blind. No more food.”

Bruce’s jaw dropped in indignation. “I have not!” he gasped.

Tim howled with laugher.

As Tim took the tray from Matt's hands, a bell rang, signaling a new customer.

"Who is it?" Matt called. The heroes turned to the door to answer Matt's question. They all stopped talking and several stood up. A tense feeling started to fill the room.

"Why're you guys silent again? Who's here?" Matt asked, leaning on his cane.

"Someone who shouldn't be here," Bruce growled, now standing protectively in front of Matt.

"Mista J! Ain't they being mean!" A shrill voice cried. Matt couldn't place it but he'd heard it somewhere before.

"Seems so Pooh! Aww, look at their faces! So grumpy! I could make 'em smile for us. Would y'all like that? No? Well that's just too bad!" a second voice cackled.

"Why are you here Joker?" Bruce asked menacingly.

Matt's eyes widened, the Joker was in his café. That was not good, not good at all. Matt tightened his grip on his cane.

"I'm just wanted to see what all the fuss was about. All the capes gathering publicly on a regular basis at the same place, isn't a really smart move, y'know. You think we haven't noticed? Now, I want to see what is able to make broody bats smile."

"You need to leave. Now." Clark sounded pissed.

"Um, let me think about it... No." Joker and Harley broke into a fit of laughter.

"Flash, you need to—" Hal started.

"I know, I got it. Matt we're going to leave now. I'm going to pull you by the arm," Barry cut in.

"Uh-uh-uh, not so fast," said Harley, tutting. "Puddin' has a surprise under his coat."

There was the sound of cloth being moved and then an intake of breath.

"What's happening?" Matt whispered.

"I don't want to freak you out, but he's got a bomb. I'm so sorry this is happening," Barry answered.

"And I have seven more throughout the city! Come on! Lighten up! Let’s enjoy each other’s company! I just wanna try some of the baked goodness Matty supposedly has. Play the game, gimme a yellow smiley cookie and some joe. Whatever he’s got here has gotta be good, Batsy has gotten a little fatsy!” Joker cackled.

Bruce scoffed.

“Don’t you deny it!” Joker said in a suddenly serious and deadpan voice.

“I want a pumpkin pie slice,” Harley declared.

“Fine,” Bruce growled/groaned.

“Are sure, Bats?” Diana asked “We can take him down.”

“Did you not see the bomb?!”

“Point.”

“I got it,” said Clark, grabbing Harley’s pie and Joker’s cookie and coffee.

Matt could hear the pair loudly plop at a table. A few seconds later, there was the sound of utensils clattering to the ground.

“Damn (Blasphemy), this is good Mista J! Real good! We ain’t blowing this up! Call Harvey and Ivy! They need to try this! You wait here! Imma get my babies too!”

“The hyenas?!” someone gasped.

“Uh-huh,” came the solemn reply from someone else in a different part of the café.

“Don’t y’all worry your little heads. I won’t let ‘em do nothin, my pals or my buddies. I like it here!” Harley said cheerily.

“Bats?” Hal asked.

“Nothing we can do. Let them come. Joker could still blow us all up,” Bruce said.

“Totally. And that sounds fun! All the capes blown up at a café, the joke of the century! Ha ha! But Harley-girl is right, this is much more fun! A good ole cup o’ joe is just what the Joker needed! My goons have just been soo... blah lately. I’m missing pizzazz! This has pizzazz!” Joker said, gulping his coffee loudly.  
________  
A while later, Two-Face and Poison Ivy were sitting with Joker and Harley while ignoring the hoard of heroes than were glaring at them.

“Mr. Murdock, do the trees suffer during the collection of the coffee beans that you use in your coffee?” Pamela asked, standing up and walking over to the menu on the wall.

“Um no. Why?” Matt answered nervously.

“Why? Because if you said yes then I’d have to kill you. But you said no, so we’re all good. I appreciate those who care about how they get their goods and don’t hurt nature. I only eat plant materials that do not cause any harm to the plant. Like fruit. Mostly I just eat meat though. Animals are not like plants. I would like a cappuccino please,” said Pamela thoughtfully.

After getting her drink and sipping it, she carefully and quietly put her cup down. “I am very happy with your work here Mr. Murdock. My babies will be pleased to know that they have played a large part in producing something so good. I look forward to working with you in the future.”

“There is no future. You will not come back to this establishment,” barked Bruce, intimidatingly.

“But it’s soo good!” Harley whined.

“We will be coming back,” Harvey stares.

“No Two-Face, you won’t,” Bruce said.

“Yes we will. Wanna know why?”

“Why?”

“Because this is a hero hotspot. The perfect target. Something tragic will happen to your friend here eventually without our help. But...,” Harvey paused, “if you allow Mr. Murdock to continue to serve us and our friends. He will be under our protection. Think of it, Murdock’s Mochas will be a place we’re heroes and villains and coexist peacefully. No fighting. Just a place to relax and enjoy food and drink. Look at it from this angle, your friend will be safe and maybe heroes and villains can talk out some of their issues before it comes to violence. Think of that.”

There was a long, long, long pause.

“Matt? It’s up to you,” Tim said.

Matt gulped nervously. “I-I don’t know. I can’t see, so I can’t exactly tell the gravity of the situation. I’d rather not die, obviously, but like... I don’t know. I just want to do my thing, not be involved in a deal. I’m just honestly confused at this point. Bats? What do you think.”

“I don’t think you have much of a choice. In my opinion, you saying yes could do Gotham a lot of good,” Bruce said.

“Alright then. Yes. I guess?”

The villains of Gotham cheered. Joker laughed. “Yay! Don’t cha worry. You’re in good hands. We’ll keep you safe as long as we get our food. We’re good tippers too!”

The tension in the room dissipated and resumed their friendly conversations and gossip stories.

“Do everything is fine now. Right? Right. Can I have my beignets now please,” Tim begged, “please!”

Matt breathed in a sigh of relief and laughed. If Tim wanted his beignets than everything was fine.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How was this? Please comment!


	4. Too Loud

It had been some time since the coffee shop truce had been made and business was booming in Murdock's Mochas. The public was surprised to find that even after a month, Gotham's villains hadn't broken any rules, in fact they were courteous guests that often helped around shop.

It had become a common sight for Joker and Two-Face to be seen playing poker together, although Matt never allowed actual money to be used in gambling. The loser had to help clean dishes instead. Cat Woman often visited for kitty treats and to give Robin advice on how to take care of Alfred the cat. Once she had caught someone giving Matt the wrong kind of bills and after threatening to scratch the man's eyes out, offered to watch the register when she was in the café. (US dollar bills are the same shape and size so vision impaired people can easily get scammed) Poison Ivy had covered the windowsill with an assortment of plants, all red to match the awning, not that Matt would notice, but it was still a nice gesture. Besides, Matt thought the flowers smelled lovely and watered them regularly.

The combination of heroes and bad guys didn't turn out as badly as everyone thought it would. After all, you have to be around different kinds of people with different perspectives or you might become close minded. Close minded heroes aren't good heroes. Everyone appreciated being able to hear the other side of the story in a peaceful environment. Some conflicts were even avoided because people were able to come to an agreement. No one dared start anything in the café either. Ever. (The Joker and Superman made for a terrifying partnership)

No one dared take advantage of Matt's blindness. Matt had gained the respect of heroes and villains from miles around with his unique talents and his personable personality. The fact that he was blind and still did the things that he did gave them even more respect for Matt. Besides the incident with the register, there had been one terrifying incident that had convinced anyone considering being badly behaved to stay far far away.

What had happened was that one young man who was down on his luck hadn't gotten the memo of who the café was frequented by and had tried to rob Matt. The man had charged in, guns at the ready, and was halfway through making his demands when he realized who was staring back at him. It had been a night where the Justice League and super villains were hosting a movie marathon (with audio descriptions for Matt) and literary every powered person was in the café. The kid trying to rob the store turned around so fast, but it was still too late. The guy wouldn't be able to walk for at least a month.

After that, business had continued on without a hitch. Sure reporters loved to form a wall around the entrance, but they usually left before the super villain crowd showed up.  
_________  
It was a beautiful Sunday morning, the kind that would invite many to the doors of Murdock's Mochas. Dick had just arrived to help Matt open up shop like he always did. He'd just been dropped off from patrol by Bruce and was sitting in an outside bench, waiting for Matt to come down from his apartment above the café.

Dick sat on the bench for about fifteen minutes before he got up to see what was keeping Matt. As he walked up to the door, Dick saw a note and an envelope taped to the door. The note had a handwritten message for Dick. It was written in Matt's famous illegible scrawl, but Dick had grown accustomed to Matt's poor handwriting and was able to decipher it. No one in the hero or villain community knew how to read braille (yet) and the printer had broken recently, so Matt had had to write any messages he needed to leave behind for others. The note read: 'Having issues with some prescriptions, won't come back until later. Here's the key, could you open up the café today? I'll pay you overtime. Give me a call if you need anything.'

Dick sighed, it would be hard to run the shop without Matt, even for one day. Hopefully he came back soon. Dick walked in and set to work. He put the foods on display that Matt already had prepared and started the food prep. Once he was done, Dick put out a sign to notify patrons that there might be a shortage of treats that day and waited for people to start flooding in.

Wonder Woman was the first to arrive.

"Hey Dick, how're you doing?"

"I'm good. Want your usual?"

"Uh-huh. Where's Matt? I have an idea for a new type of treat. My mom used to make them for me when I was little. I forgot all about them until my trip."

"Oh Matt's not in right now. I think he had to pick up some stuff for himself. Hopefully he should be back soon. How did you enjoy your trip back home to the island?"

"It was wonderful! I was really getting homesick and it was just like I remembered. I had such a good time. But, I was ready to come back."

"Yeah, I get that."

"Mmm," Diana said, biting into her pound cake, "I never get tired of this stuff. How do you think Matt started getting into this stuff?"

"I don't know, but once he mentioned that he took it up as an activity after he was blinded. Said that people had him bake as an exercise for learning where things are."

"He had to have some sort of teacher. Like Matt could probably win every baking show ever."

"Yeah, definitely. Anyway, I have to go, I can see some more people heading over."

Several hours passed and Matt still hadn't come back to the café.

"Do you know where he is?" Barry asked.

"No, but he left a note saying that he was having issues with prescriptions or something."

"Is he alright?"

"Probably. I'll call him, see what's up."

Dick picked up his phone and found Matt's contact. After a moment, someone answered, it wasn't Matt.

"Who is this?" Dick asked.

"Hello, this is Danielle from Gotham General. Mr. Murdock is currently unavailable, do you have a message," the caller answered.

"Is he okay?" Dick asked worriedly.

"I'm not with him right now, so I don't know. Are you Dick Grayson?"

"Yes. Why?"

"I was told that if you called to tell you that Mr. Murdock won't come into work today. The pharmacy forgot to reorder his prescription and until they restock, he isn't supposed to be at work. We gave him a similar medication to use until then, but we're not sure how well it'll work. Would you be available to pick him up?"

"Uhh yeah. I can get there in like ten minutes."

"Alright. I'll let him know. Thanks for calling. Bye."

"Bye."

Dick hung up.

"What was that all about?" Pamela asked.

"I have to pick Matt from Gotham General. I think he's fine, but they don't want him going back by himself. Probably have him drugged up. They didn't his prescription and have him a temporary place holder. I'll be back in a bit, can you watch the place until then."

"Of course," said Barry.

"Oh, I know what's going on," said Pamela, "I'll go with you. Just let me grab his noise canceling headphones." She stood up and started to rummage through a box located behind the counter.

"Headphones?"

"Yeah. Y'know, for his sensory issues."

"I don't know."

"Oh, really? Like you don't know about how he was like this close to getting abilities?" Pamela asked, making the sign for tiny with her hand.

"What?!" everyone exclaimed. The whole café had gone silent. Matt with powers, that would be a good story.

"Yeah. Y'know the accident that blinded him was due to unsafe chemicals, right?"

"Yeah."

"Well they also enhanced his hearing. A lot. Like an extreme amount. Except unlike Supes, Matt can't pick out different sounds, they all just mush together. Basically it's like he has an air horn blasting in his ear constantly."

"Ooh, that's gotta suck."

"Yeah, it's a pain, but he's got medication for it. It's usually fine, but right now he doesn't have his medication so he'll need these," Pamela said, holding up a black pair of headphones.

"Let's go!" Dick said, pulling Pamela along.  
_______  
It was soo loud. The noise, that was the only thing registering in Matt's mind. He could hear everything, but also nothing. Matt could hear that a doctor was trying to talk to him, but whatever he was saying was just adding to the onslaught of sound that was assaulting his ears.

It wasn't supposed to get this bad. When he'd heard that he wasn't going to get his refill, Matt had been a little worried, but he hadn't thought that it would be this bad. Matt thought that even though they didn't have his medication at hand, they'd have a replacement that would work. Whatever they had given him did shit. He could hear car horns beeping, people shrieking, and all of the other noises associated with city life. Matt felt like his head was going to explode, so he curled into himself and clutched his ears. 

He stayed that way, curled in a ball and rocking back and forth, for what felt like an unmeasurable amount of time until it suddenly just stopped, well not stopped, lessened greatly. Matt could still hear a lot of noise, but it was like someone had lowered the volume of a TV. Matt still couldn't pick out what separate sounds were though. Without his splitting headache, Matt could now register that hands were rubbing his shoulders, trying to calm him. Matt brought his hands to his head and felt that there were headphones covering his ears.

"Ivy?" Matt asked. One day at the café, Matt had told Pamela about his sensory problems and told her that if there was ever an issue that she should give him his custom made noise canceling headphones. Normal headphones were useless to Matt. Pamela was a doctor, the PhD kind, and she knew an extensive amount of information on the medical uses of plants. Matt's medications were plant based (a fact which she eventually forgave Matt for) and Pamela would be able to help with any issues that arose, like the one currently happening.

The hands patted his back, signaling 'yes'.

The hands, Pamela's hands, put his cane onto his lap, signaling that they would be leaving. Matt got up and followed her to a car, where someone else was waiting. Matt assumed it was Dick.

The drive was relatively quick and once they had arrived, Matt showed Pamela to his apartment to see if she could help. Dick did not follow, he had to return to his café duties. Through his feet, Matt could feel vibrations signaling that Pamela was walking around, searching for something. She walked back and made a walking motion on his palm.

"Do you need to go somewhere?" Matt asked.

A pat (Yes)

"Will you come back?"

Another pat (Yes)

She left. 

After a while, Pamela returned and put something in his hands. After letting Matt feel it, she moved one of Matt's hands towards his mouth, telling him to eat it. Matt did, it didn't taste good, but he swallowed it anyway. Nothing happened for a bit, but eventually the sounds lessened even more than they had been by the headphones. Once Matt's hearing had reached the level where his headphones were actually noise canceling, he removed them. Matt was surprised, he could now hear normally again.

"Thanks Ivy."

"It's no problem Matty," she said affectionately, "Just did what I could."

"Sorry you had to deal with that."

"Hey! No! Don't apologize. You needed help, so I helped you out. It's nothing to be embarrassed about."

"I know, but ...," Matt trailed off, "Did everyone see what I was like?" He asked self consciously.

"Oh, don't worry. Dick called Barry and told him to have everyone cleared out by the time we got back. He's cleaning up right now."

Matt stood up to go help, only to be pushed back into his chair.

"Now, Matt, you know how much I like your food, but you need to take a few days off. You deserve a break anyway. I'll keep my friends from acting up while you're out."

"I guess. I feel like such a fool, I usually call a week ahead to see if they have my order. So stupid."

Pamela gave Matt a tight hug. “Aww.”

“And now I’m all emotional,” Matt sobbed.

“You’re tired, in pain, and I’m guessing hungry. You’ve basically caused the lowest crime rate in Gotham in decades while running a hugely successful business with literally only one employee. You’re allowed to be emotional,” Pamela had sweetly.

“Thanks.”

“You’re welcome.”

“I owe you food don’t I?”

“Yep.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How was that? Anything you want to see in the future?
> 
> Also I’ve dug myself into a huge hole. I get story ideas and I HAVE to write and post them. Then people want more. Now I have 6 stories I’m trying to update on a regular basis. I can’t say no to people, basically. It’s a pleasant problem to have, but that’s why I might be slow at updating.


	5. Missing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to everyone who gave me comments!

After the fiasco with Matt's medicine, Matt decided to just stick with Pamela's homegrown recipe. They worked better and were free, so it really was the better way to go. Pamela's medicines were considered illegal, but the League let it slide. The plants had no harmful side effects, weren't addictive, and actually worked great. The plants worked so great that the League even made a deal with Ivy so that she could provide medicine to those who couldn't afford it otherwise. This helped keep people off the streets and out of hospitals.

The whole city of Gotham was pleasantly confused by the charitable contributions that the city's villains had started to make. Of course they still committed crimes and did horrible things, but they also gave back to the people and communities they stole from. Joker started a comedy club that focused on helping people fighting depression. Two-Face couldn't legally practice law, but he still gave people legal advice and reminded people of their rights. Deathstroke started taking jobs to help find missing persons and return them to their homes and families, instead of only taking jobs to find people and then kill them immediately after locating them.

The heroes were grateful for their enemies' sudden benevolence, but still remained extremely weary. The League sent guards to any event held by the law breakers. Every Wednesday Dick acted as one of these guards and watched over the happenings of Mad Hatter's story writing classes, where the Alice-obsessed villain taught aspiring authors the fundamentals of giving a classic story a creative twist.

These classes took place at night and ended quite late which led to Dick's forming of the habit of his walking straight to Murdock's Mochas after he was done. There, he helped Matt open up shop early and get all of the day's goods ready to be served.

It was a cool night, lovely weather for walking. Dick slowly made his way to his civilian job, his Nightwing costume in a duffel bag that he let hang on his shoulder. The night's work had gone smoothly and was actually quite relaxing, something that could never be expected in such a busy place as Murdock's Mochas.

As Dick approached the café, a sense of foreboding and dead filled the pit of his stomach. There was no logical reason as to why but Dick felt that something was terribly wrong. The café lights were usually already lit by the time Dick arrived, but the all the lights, even the ones in Matt's upstairs apartment, were turned off. The front windows also had their curtains drawn. This was curious because when Matt was by himself, he really didn't have a need for the curtains. Matt couldn't see so he didn't need curtains to keep light from coming in and Matt didn't mind people peeking inside the windows to get a good look at the café. Matt usually also kept his lights on for any hungry heroes wandering by after their patrols who might knock on the door to be let in.

Dick walked up the path and knocked on the café's sturdy doors. As his fist met the wood, the door swung partway open.

'Why isn't it locked?!" Dick thought, bewildered.

He stepped into the dark doorway. Once his eyes had adjusted to the lack of light, Dick looked around. The once neat and precisely planned layout of the café was an utter mess. The café was practically destroyed! Chairs were strewn about, tables were knocked over on their sides, Ivy's plants were crushed, the shelves of Matt's delicious food had collapsed, and most horrifying was the large crater located in the middle of a the wall located farthest from the door. The wall was cracked in a spiderweb pattern and chunks of it had fallen to the floor. The wall was also marred by a large, dark streak of what looked like blood.

'That kind of impact could only come from someone being thrown!' Dick realized as he rushed into the café, dropping his duffel.

"Matt! Matt! Where are you?! Matt!"

There was no answer.

"Hey Matt! Answer me! Are you okay?!"

Nothing broke the dreadful silence.

Dick grabbed the comm that he had left in his bag and shouted for help. "B! I need you now!"

The comm crackled to life. "What's wrong?"

"I need help now! Come in! Bring whoever you can! Matt's place is totally wrecked and it looks like there was a huge fight-which Matt lost! I can't find him anywhere! It's really bad!" Dick shouted.

"Matt?! Crap! I'll send out a search group immediately! I'm on my way, I'll bring reinforcements. Any clues you can see?"

"It's too dark. I'm going to look upstairs. I'll call you if I find anything." Dick turned off his comms to focus on his task at hand.

Dick stumbled around, looking for a light switch, which he eventually found-though the bullet hole in it rendered it useless. Giving up on his prospect of finding a built-in light source, Dick tripped his way up the stairs to Matt's apartment with only the faint gleam of a glow stick to guide him.

It rooms upstairs weren't much better than the café below. Furniture was destroyed and Matt's normally well organized cookbooks and notebooks laid on the floor in a messy pile. Matt was still nowhere to be found.

Several minutes later, the sounds of people on the street below reached Dick’s ears. He ran down the stairs and outside to meet them. The group contained Damian, Jason, Bruce, Barry, Diana, and Clark.

“What happened?!” growled Bruce.

“I don’t know! I just showed up for work and everything was like this!”

The group entered the café and began their work, flipping over overturned tables and looking for any clues as to what happened to their dear friend.

“Why would anyone do this?” asked Barry, who was speedily organizing the wreckage. “I mean it’s public knowledge that we all like it here and would definitely go after anyone who messed with him!”

After a moment, Damian gave an answer, “That is probably why.”

“Do you think they want our attention or our identities?” Diana asked.

“I do not know, but whoever is behind this is going to regret it!” said Clark, his eyes glowing red. His eyes were glued to the red smeared on the wall.

“First we need to find out who was here before we start anything. Robin, I want you to bring the security footage to Red Robin for him to look at. 

“On it, I’ll return soon,” said Damian, rushing to the bat cave.

“There definitely was more than one person here-not including Matt,” noted Diana.

“Looks like three, all quite strong. I don’t know why they felt the need to act so violently though. I can see that Ivy’s plants tried to protect him, but they’re too small to be a big threat. Matt can hold his own for sure, but not against people like this. They would have known that he was at a disadvantage in the beginning,” said Barry.

“Maybe they tried to get information about us out of him here, but it didn’t work,” suggested Clark.

“Of course it wouldn’t work! He’s our close friend, but he doesn’t know who we are. The whole reason why he doesn’t know is so stuff like this doesn’t happen!” Diana cried, frustrated.

“B? Do you think they’re part of the criminal underworld?” asked Dick.

A new voice cut into the conversation. “Never! We would never lower ourselves to the level of these assholes! We would never ever ever hurt dear Matty!” The trees out on the street could faintly be heard swaying in a way that could only be described as threatening and aggressive.

“Wha—” Dick turned to see several silhouettes in the doorway. There stood the Justice League’s great enemies. The group walked forward and were revealed to be Two-Face, Poison Ivy, Deathstroke, Joker, and Harley Quinn. At their feet stood a clan of cackling hyenas, their eyes flashing threateningly in the dark light.

The usually smiling face of the Joker stood grim and somber, his bright red lips pressed in a thin line. “We’re here to help.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How was that? Please comment! Comments=faster chapter updates!


	6. Chains

Matt awoke with a groan, the sharp pain in his side consuming his clouded mind. He took in a deep, shuddering breath and yawned. The damp air filled his lungs and settled there. It was cold and his covers were apparently missing, making Matt even more uncomfortable.

'Wha— Did I leave the window open? Ugh. Great. Now I have to get up.'

Matt tried to roll over so he could close whichever window he had accidentally left open, but was held back something could not get off his bed. His chest hurt at the pressure.

'Huh? What's this?'

All of Matt's thoughts were scrambled and his mind was fuzzy. He patted his chest down with the little mobility he had until he touched what felt like cords. He rolled a piece of cord that laid across his chest between his fingers. It didn't move much and was pretty taut. To his surprise, Matt realized that there really were cords and that he wasn't just making things up in his drowsy, sluggish brain. This realization immediately brought Matt's thoughts into focus.

Matt tried to pull at the cords again. They didn't budge, but Matt was able to notice what felt like a complex knot. Fiddling with it, Matt was able to stick the tip of one of his fingernails under a section of the knotted cord and began loosening the knot.

'I swear, if the Rouges Gallery is playing another prank...'

A hand shot out and tore Matt's exploring fingers away from the knot. Startled, Matt gave a yelp.

"Oh, shut it! I don't like the ones who are whiny," said a deep, gravely voice, obviously irritated. Definitely not a frequent customer, Matt couldn't place who's voice had just snapped at him. Someone he had met at some point, or at least heard on the radio or news, but didn't actually know.

Matt twisted his neck to face the disembodied stranger. "Do I know you? Who—"

"Who I am is none of your business. We've met, though I doubt you remember. Don't annoy me and you'll be fine. Now stop squirming and picking at the knots, I'm trying to clean your cuts."

Matt felt a cold, wet cloth being rubbed on his upper arm. It stung a bit. Matt winced and tried to move him arm away.

The voice gave an agitated sigh, but slowed his movements to a more gentle pace. "Don't move. You're only making things more difficult. I have very little patience and will tighten your restraints if I have to."

Matt increased his squirming. He wasn't going to listen to anyone that thought they could threaten him, even if they could follow through. "No," said Matt in his best Batman voice. 

The man laughed. "No? What do you think is happening to you right now?"

Matt stayed silent, not wanting to show that he really had no idea what was going on.

"You are in a warehouse in Gotham. You were brought forcibly here discuss something quite important. You didn't go calmly and my men, unfortunately, were a bit rough removing you from your apartment. You and your apartment are in need on some repairs. Now that you know, will you stop moving?"

Now that he knew that he'd apparently been kidnapped, Matt was definitely not going to stop moving. "Where do you think I'm going to go? I don't know where I am. Not to mention you've decided to use me as a punching bag."

The man growled, but just continued inspecting Matt's cuts and bruises with his fingers and cloth. He didn't tighten Matt's restraints. "I am not responsible for that. Hired goons are such a hassle and they don't even do the job right. These kinds of operations are supposed to be handled delicately, you know. I'm a professional, but it appears that the fools I work with are not. I apologize Mr. Murdock for their behavior and treatment of you, I can put all of that aside as we discuss the future. I hope you enjoy the rest of your stay with us."

Matt relaxed his posture. The man, whoever he was, was irritated, but Matt didn't think that the man was going to hurt him, not yet anyway. He wanted something.

"Where am I? Specifically?" Matt asked.

"Somewhere. Mr. Murdock, the reason that you are here and not in your lovely apartment is that there is something I want from you. You have access to both the heroes of the Justice League and respective their enemies through your cafe. That puts you in a very powerful position."

"I guess..." Matt did not like where this was going.

"It does, and a lot of people are interested in that power. I am one of those people. I would like to work closely with you and I want you to tell me what—"

"You do realize that I don't know any of their real identities right? I can't, like really can't, tell you anything like that, so there's no point in asking," interrupted Matt. The sooner his kidnapper realized this, the sooner he could possibly leave. Hopefully Matt's lack of knowledge wouldn't upset the guy though.

The guy gave another exasperated sigh. "I know that! That's not what I was going to ask. Don't be rude. Listen to what people say."

Matt snorted despite himself. "Don't be rude? You've wrecked my apartment and kidnapped me! I'm currently being held captive and you think I'm being rude. That's totally fair."

Matt heard a faint mutter of, "It's so hard to be nice to these..."

"I apologized and if you will just listen to me, you will see that this is worth all of the hassle," the man said, speaking up.

"How?"

"Murdock's Mochas has such popularity. It makes such a good product. It draws in so many customers. It has such a community impact. You really have a good thing going."

"And? Buttering me up won't help you if you don't tell me what you want. Have you really gone to the trouble of kidnapping me to talk about my cafe?"

"You've really won the hearts and loyalty of so many people just with your food and drinks. They'd do anything for you."

"What about my fabulous personality? I like to think that's a factor too."

"Imagine if you could have more! Don't you want more?!"

"Get to the point," Matt groaned.

"How would you feel about partnering with me to make Murdock's Mochas a world class restaurant chain?"

**Author's Note:**

> Please comment! Comments make me very happy!


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